Presser-foot mechanism.



1. L. WHEELER.

PRESSER FOOT MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED. JULY 2 3.1915.

Patnted July 4, 1916 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. L. WH EELER.

PRESSER FOOT MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23,1915- 1,189,893. Patented July 4, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Z? Invenior;

Y 57: 1.][Zeekg UNITED sra rizs PATENT onrroE.

JOHN L. WHEELER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR T SIMPLEX SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, :MISSOURI, A GORPORATION DIE MISSOURI.

rnnssER-roo'r ivrnoiaarwsi Specification, of letters Iatent.

1 atented July 4, 1916.

Application filed July 23, 1915. Serial No. 41,428.

A To all whom it may concern:

' citizen of the United States, residing in the Be it known that 1, JOHN L. WHEELER, a

city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented newand useful Improvements in Presser-Foot Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification. a V

ThIS invention relates to sewing machines,

and more particularly to work-holding devices or resser-foot mechanisms for bold? ing the work in a machine forsewing leather and similar heavy material. y

The invention has for its objects to produce a simple and eflicient mechanism for holding the work tight upon the supporting table while the awl is puncturing the work and the needle is carrying the stitching thread therethrough, and for releasing the pressure on the work during th'f feeding thereof; and, further,-to provide or a neutral position of the parts of the mechanism, so

that the work-clamping member or presserfoot may be manipulated by hand when placing the work in and the machine.

1 Other objects from the following-description.

trating an adaptation of the inventionfthe parts of the mechanism being in the-, posi tions they assume when the work is clamped on the supporting tablerFi-gzl 2 is a fragmentary view, 'on an enlarged scale, show ing the parts of the. mechanism in the neu-' A tral position; Fig. 3 is a similarview showing the position of the parts, when the resser-foot is mechanicallyraised to permit the feeding of the work; Fig. 1 is a' view' illustrating a modification of the invention; Fig. 5 is a view, 'partl'y fin top plan and partly in horizontal section of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detailview ofthe'cam or 'tripper plates of the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

Referring now to these drawings, the nu' meral 1 designates the bed-plate or base of the sewing machine, upon which a head frame or standard 2 is mountedJ-At the front of the head-frame is. a work-table or su port 3 having a slot 4 therein for the passage of a'curved awl 5 and an oppositely disposed, similarly curved needle 6; said awl being arranged and adapted to perforate removing it from.

and advantages will appear 1 the work, and the needle following the awl on its downward stroke to carry the stitching thread through the work; the awl being oscillated in one direction to feed the work before t has receded therefrom. This type of machine is more fully described in Letdayof December, 1913.. Hence no further 'dGSCI'lPtlOD. of the machine, in its entirety is deemed necessary inthis specification. Furthermore,,as far as the pre'sentinvention is concerned-it may be applied to other types of machines utilizing either curved. or 7 straight awls and needles. I

Pivotally mounted on a studf7 projecting from the side of the head-frame 2, as more clearly shown. in Figs. 5 "and 6, is a lever lever member is bent angularly, as at 10 (see Fig. 5), soas to' o'verhang the work table 3,

-the rear end of the lever 8 is a sector '12 having on its peripheral face two oppositely.-

arranged sets of serrations or ratchet .teeth' r A spring 15 which constantly raise the lever member 8 5d as to hold the -presser-foot portion yieldingly on the work,

is attached at one end to saidlever member means opposite end, eitherto a stud 16 onfthehead+franie,iasjsh0wn in Fig. 1, or

-.'is mounted on a rotatable rod 19 extending to a stud 17 on a crank-arm 18,- which latter T thrgugh the head-frame and provided on its -,endw'ith a" handle 20 or other suitable ,de-

vice for rotating the rod. In the latter case 'figure, which latter position it rests again'stla stop 21 projetcting from the-side of the head-frame. The object in thus atthe crank-M mi? may be thrown from the 'gposition shown by full lines in Fig. 4 to the position shown by dot and dash lines in said taching the spring 15, in some cases, is to provide a different tension for relatively thin ahd thick work. For thick work the .p resser-foot portion 9 of the lever 8 will obviop'sly be' raised higher than for thin work. Therefore, the crank arm 17 should bemoved to the lower-position shown by the full hubs in Fig. 4; while for thin work said arm should be in' the upper position.

75.. member 8. 'The',forward portion 9 of this Pivoted about the same axis as the lever 8 is an actuating lever 22. Preferably, as shown in Fig. 5, the lever 22 has a hub portion 23' which is journaled on a hub extension 21 of the lever member 8, both the lever 8 and the lever 22 being retained on the stud T by a cap screw 25. On the lever 22 are two oppositely-disposed ears 26 to which are attached pawls 27 and 28, which are oppositely-disposed and adapted to respectively engage the sector teeth 13 and 1-1, said pawls being connected by a spring 29 which serves to hold then in engagement with said sector teeth. The pawls may be provided with a single tooth or engaging portion, as shown in Fig. 1, or, as is more prefe able, they may be provided with a series of teeth which are counterparts of the teeth on the sector, as shown in Fig. 4.

As shown in Fig. 1, there may be provided a pair of studs 30 which are arranged so as to be engaged by the pawls 27 and. 28, the arrangement being such that when the lever 22 is moved to a neutral position both of the pawls will be out of engagement with the sector portion 12 of the lever 8, but when the lever is raised from said neutral position the pawl 27 will engage the toothed portion 13 of the sector, thereby tending to raise the rear portion of the lever 8 and depressing the presser-foot or work-clamping portion 9. On the other hand, when the lever is moved in the opposite direction from the neutral position the pawl 28 will engage the toothed portion ll of the sector and act to raise the presser-foot.

Instead of providing the studs 30 as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the pawls 27 and 28 may be provided with inwardly-projecting studs 31 (see Fig. 5), which are arranged and adapted to cooperate with cam-plates 32, said cam-plates having shouldered portions 33 which are positioned so as to be engaged by the studs 31 when the lever arm 22 is in neutral position, the action of the pawls on, the sector portion 12 of the lever 8 being the same as in the modification first described. The cam-plates 32 are segmental and they are preferably mounted in an arouate slot or groove 34: on the head frame 2 so as to provide for adjustment concentric with respect to the axisof the levers 8 and 22, such adjustment being readily effected by providing the plates with slots through which securing screws 36 are inserted into the head-frame.

The lever arm 22 may be operated through any suitable mechanism in timed relation to the operation of the awland the needle, according to the structure of the machine as a whole. For the purposes of illustration, however, a cam-slot 37 is provided in the actuating disk 38 which is provided am the power shaft 39 of the machine of'the type referred to in the LettersP-atent and application hereinbefore mentioned. The lever arm 22 is provided with a roller 10 at its outer end which works in said cam-slot 37, the major portion of said slot being concentric with the axis of the shaft 39, and its relative distance from said axis being such that the lever arm is raised while the roller is in the concentric portion of the slot, and the presser-foot is clamped upon the work. For a short portion of its length the calm slot is indented or reiintrant toward the axis of the shaft 39, as'at 41, so that when the roller rides therein the lever arm will be in neutral position. This is timed so that the neutral position is reached about the time the awl and the needle are both clear of the work and the mechanism-of the machine is in such condition that the work may be placed in and removed from the machine. Another indented portion 42 is provided in the slot, which causes the end of the lever arm to move closer to the axis of the shaft 39 as the roller rides therein, whereby the lever arm is moved below its neutral position and effects the raising of the presserfoot during the time the work is being fed. or, as in the case of the machine illustrati and described in the Letters-Patent and application hereinbefore referred to, while the awl is being oscillated to feed the work.

For convenience in manipulating the presserfoot by hand when placing the work in, and removing it from, the machine, a handle 43 is provided on the lever member 8. This handle may be located either 'at a point below the actuating lever 22, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, or above said actuating lever, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, as may be preferred.

Obviously the device admits of considerable modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. T horefore I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction and arrangement shown.

I claim:

1. In a sewing machine, a work support, and means for holding the work on said. support, said means comprising a lever having a f0rwardly-extending work-clamping portion and a rearwardly-extending sector portion, said sector having two oppositelyarranged sets of teeth, an actuating lever pivoted about the same axis as said firstmentioned lever, 21 pair of oppositelydis posed pawls on said actuating lever arranged and adapted to respectively engage a set of said teeth on the sector portion of said first'mentioned lever, means for operating said actuating lever to a neutral position and to positions on opposite sides of the neutral position, means cooperating with said pawls whereby they are both out'of engagement with said sector portion of said first-mentioned lever in the neutral position of said actuating lever, and whereby said pawls alternately engage said sector portion to move said first-mentioned levervin the corresponding direction when said actuating lever is moved from neutral position, and a spring acting upon said first-mentioned lever to hold its work-clamping portion yieldably on the work. I

2. In a sewing machine, a work support, and means for holding the wvork on said support, said means comprising a lever having a forwardly-extending work-clamping portion and a rearwardly-extending sector portion, said sector having two oppositelyarranged sets of teeth, an actuating lever pivotedabout the same axis as said first mentioned lever, a pair of oppositely-disposed pawls on said actuating lever arranged and adapted to respectively engage a set of said teeth on the sector portion of said first-mentioned lever, means for operating said actuating lever to a neutral position and to positions on opposite sides of the neutral position, means cooperating with said pawls whereby they are both out of engagement with said sector portion of said first-mentioned lever in the neutral position of said actuating lever, and whereby said pawls alternately engage said sector portion to move said first-mentioned lever in the corresponding direction when said actuating lever is moved from neutral position, and a spring acting upon said firstmentioned lever to hold its work-clamping portion yieldably on the Work, the operating means for said actuating lever being relatively arranged and adapted so that the motion transmitted to said first-mentioned lever is less in the direction to effect the clamping of the Work than in the reverse direction.

3. In a presser-foot mechanism for sew-- ing machines, a head-frame, a work support adjacent thereto, a lever member pivoted on said head-frame, said lever member having a forwardly extending Work-clamping portion in cooperative relation to said Work support and a rearward sector extension providedwith two oppositely disposed sets of teeth, a second lever member pivoted on said head-frame with its axis coincident with that of said first-mentioned lever member, means for actuating said second-mentioned lever member to a neutral position and to positions on opposite sides of the neutral position, a pair of oppositely-disposed pawls on said second-mentioned lever member respectively arranged and adapted to engage one of the sets of teeth on the sector extension of said first-mentioned lever memberwvhen said second-mentioned lever member is moved from the neutral position, an arcuate guide-way on said head-frame, the radius of which is struck from the axis of said lever members, a pair of oppositelytioned lever member in the corresponding direction whensaid second-mentioned lever member is moved from neutral position.

In testimonywhereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN L. WHEELER. 

